Flexeril with a Fattie: How Does Cannabis Interact with Prescription Drugs?

Numerous studies and countless personal testimonials confirm that cannabis can be an awesome replacement for a number of pharmaceuticals, and is positioned to be a powerful tool to combat the opioid crisis. It has far fewer side effects than most prescribed drugs, and you may insert your own munchies joke here.

But it's not always a great idea to use cannabis and pharmaceuticals together, as there can be unintended interactive effects. And most of us aren't going to ask our prescribing physician if it's cool to take a dab hit with our flu meds, even if that seems like a fine idea when said flu has us praying for the sweet release of death.

Thankfully, there is a site that can help you sort of this quandary.

The straightforwardly named Drugs.com has a section specifically dedicated to helping users determine if the drugs doled out by your doctor play well with what your budtender recommends. The site states that there are "602 drugs (4272 brand and generic names) that are known to interact with cannabis," including 128 major interactions (904 brand and generic names) and 474 moderate interactions (3368 brand and generic names).

I'm no mathpert, but that seems like quite a few, right? Also, there are at least 4272 brand and generic drugs? Dear god...

THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR TALKING WITH YOUR DOCTOR. Rather, it's a tool to give you information, which as we know, is power. That said, I'm not certain Drugs.com is exactly pro cannabis, as they have a section which asks and answers: "What are Illicit (street) drugs? Illicit drugs means illegal drugs, which are sold on the street. Illicit drugs generally have high addictive potential, are abused and cause harm." They classify cannabis as such a drug, even though the majority of Americans now have access to cannabis through state-run medical and recreational cannabis programs. Get woke, Drugs.com.

But elsewhere on the site are 11 reviews for cannabis, with a user rating averaging 9.9 out of a possible score of 10, and reviewers sharing their experiences using cannabis successfully for conditions ranging from anxiety to stage 3 cancer treatments. Ah, the wonder of the internet.